PLEASE ANSWER...Is an 11 1/2 to young for a child to stay home alone???

Question

Well just wandering what the appropriate age is for a child to stay home alone would be...just for an hour or so!!

Answer 1

No, that's not too young for limited periods of time. The child should know when you will be home and have a way to reach you for an emergency.

Very few states have actual laws about this, but they all have some sort of law concerning adequate supervision. Where I live, the rules are as follows:

a. 7 years and under must be supervised
b. 8 and 9 year olds can be unsupervised for up to 2 hours
c. 10 through 13 can be unsupervised for up to 12 hours
c. At age 14-17, 24 hours is the general guideline, but it can go longer given adequate backup supervision (like a neighbor who checks on things).

If your child is particularly immature, you would want to be cautious with these numbers. And these are guidelines, not laws, and the guidelines in use in other places may be different.

Answer 2

My son is also 11 1/2 he is very mature for his age, and he knows what he can and can not do while we are gone. No snacks that use the toaster or the oven, only the microwave, no opening the door, no answering the phone unless its mom or dad. He is home alone after school 2 days a week for a little over an hour, he does his homework and his chores and then he reads or plays on the computer until his dad gets home, not on the internet, only home games for the computer.

Answer 3

It depends a lot on your state laws. I know in Michigan (where I live) they don't list a 'minimum' age by law, just a 'minimum guideline age', which, by the way, is 9 years old. It also has to do wtih maturity - if he or she does stuff when you're IN the house, it's probably not a wise idea to leave them alone!

I could leave mine for 1/2 hour or so when he was 10, now we have bumped it up to about 1-2 hours if my husband and I both HAVE to be somehwere and he isn't able to go or just wants to stay home. We usually call within that time frame to check on him or he calls us if he needs something.

Also before you leave him/her, review the rules - no touching the stove, no opening the door, no answering the phone, if he/she does have to answer something tell him NOT to say that his/her parents are not home, etc.etc. What I used to say was "root your happy butt to the couch and watch TV...I'll call to check on you."

Obviously you're not talking long-term leaving alone, such as for all day, I wouldn't do that until he was at least 14, but for an hour or so it should be all right.

Answer 4

If you feel your child is mature enough not to mess with dangerous stuff (stove, microwave, fire, knives, calling 911 for fun, etc.), knowledgeable enough to know what to do in non-emergencies (stranger at the door...) *and* emergencies, and if they will have access to a trusted adult while you are gone, then it should be fine. It's good to start with short blocks of time, like 15-30 minutes while you run out for milk & bread or whatnot, and work up to 1-2 hrs. I would give it a couple more years before going longer than 2 hrs. though.

When I leave my older children alone, I give them a task or chore that will take up part of the time I'm gone. This gives them something to focus on for a while, but also some free time when they're done. Not too much free time, though-- that's when they dream up their bad ideas! But this gives them a strong feeling of responsibility to not only be staying by themselves, but to have completed the task set before them (be that homework, a chore, fix a snack, put away their laundry, whatever).

Take care

Answer 5

I think it depends on the child and their maturity.

My 10, almost 11 year old cousin forgets simple things - like closing the front door. She also has a tendency to brag to her friends about anything she is allowed to do. If she were to stay home alone I'm sure she'd spill to them - and who knows who else would overhear? She isn't shy and I wouldn't put it past her to open the door to someone she thought looked friendly or asked her for help in finding their lost dog or something.

On the other hand the 8 year old I would trust by herself for a short time. When our grandfather was in the hospital we were comfortable leaving her in the common area by herself since she wasn't allowed into the patient care areas. We checked on her every few minutes, but she's fairly trustworthy and mature enough to know the rules and follow them. Plus it helped that there was a guard stationed at a desk nearby that kept an eye out for her.

Answer 6

I agree with the previous person that every child is different and individual maturity must be taken into account. That said, however, I think that 11 1/2 years old is too young to be staying home alone.

Answer 7

I know that depending on the state you live in they have the age limitations. You really can't ask anyone on the message board for advice like that only you know your child. Though and hour can go by so fast it all depends on the maturity of the child. Some kids can talk on the phone for an hour, while another child would go online for an hour, or play video games, but then there are kids that can burn the house down in 15minutes only you can make that decison hopefully it's a good choice and it's for a good reason.

Answer 8

I think that is an ok age to be left alone for an hour or so, assuming you feel the child is responsible and you will be somewhere they can reach you if there is an emergency. Be sure to go over 911 and other safety info. You might also enlist the help of a neighbor to be available should the he or she need help right away.

Answer 9

I would have thought that 11 would be a minimum age for a child to be left 'home alone' for a short time but also think that would depend on the relative maturity of the child - how sensible and trustworthy they are. Only you can judge that about your child.
But setting some common sense ground rules, as Mistress mentions, would be essential, also

Answer 10

A mature 11 1/2 should be okay at home for an hour or so. Make sure you stress the rules about not answering the door, not telling people on the phone that you're not there, but that you're not "available" instead, and not to burn candles or use the stove and good stuff like that.